Sherlock Jr.

Sherlock Jr. (Buster Keaton, 1924)

I discovered Buster Keaton's comedies a while after I've seen all the Chaplin feature films. So I had a little to very huge preference for the little Tramp. Well, after seing The General I was sold to say that the competition between the two comedians was just good for the public. Even if I think that each did something the other wasn't doing, Buster Keaton with his almost permanent sad unexpressive face doing daredevil stunts on trains, cars, motorcycles etc. And Chaplin playing a lot with his skills as a face actor and handy jugglers of any kind. Moreover, Chaplin's films are more feminine than Keaton's bravados of danger and white clown. Well, that's this critics' view on both men.

Sherlock Jr. is the story of a poor projectionnist in love with the daughter a rich man of his little town. He dreams of being the next Sherlock Holmes by solving crimes. But he is challenged by another man for the heart of the young lady. The antagonist stragely looks like a "dandier" version of Chaplin's little Tramp: the hat, little mustache and an older man in love with a much younger woman. Another interesting issue is the fact that the antagonist must steal to get what he has, a lot like the Tramp that will never let an opportunity to steal a bagel or a fancy pastry...

On the level of Keaton's stunts, they are simply amazing, especially the motorcycle ride that is completely unbelievable! Even if the effect of fast forwarding the film gives more time to Keaton to control the situation he is still on the bike and doing the other stunts! For its time, Sherlock Jr. has some very ionteresting effects, like when Keaton enters in the film that is projected on the movie screen and interacting with the elements displayed.

The only failure of the film is how thin the plot is. We understand already that this won't be a tragedy whe we sit in front of this kind of comedy, but I thought that the story could have had more meat to it. At some point I thought that the story was there to link the stunts together only... But the degree of entertainment is so high that we forgive this flaw, if it's one and just enjoy the great film!

To all silent films lovers Sherlock Jr. is a must see and its lenght just give you the envy to watch more movies from this great performer that was Buster Keaton.

MEDIAFILM's Materpiece List

Since 50 years, MEDIAFILM.ca is a public agency that proposes the ratings of everything cinema/television related for the entire Prvince of Quebec. Its ratings are from (1)Masterpiece to (7)Duds. Those ratings are used in the newspapers, tv guides and many websites.

Being a cinephile in the province of Quebec, these ratings were the first references I had when I began to discover auteur films/ foreign and classic films.

Every five years they upgrade a list of masterpieces, This list has been the first cinephile achievement I ever wanted to complete. But on the way I encountered many many other films. An obstacle was also the availability of certain films, Victor Sjöstrom's The Wind or Abel Gance's Napoleon for example. And the many Criterion expensive releases retarded this quest. Now, with more moeny in my pockets and the discovery of certain films available online I am in position to conclude my first ever cinephile objective. Being near the end I feel like a marathonian that feels nostalgic of the first miles and I take a certain step-back at the work/fun achieved.

Enough with the words here. Here you have the list that I will try to put in the best order possible (by year). With the time you will see some links appear on the titles, it will be my review and/or thought on the film and the context I've discovered the so-called movie!

U = Unseen

The Birth of A Nation (D.W. Griffith, 1915) USA
Intolerance (D.W. Griffith, 1916) USA
The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari (Robert, Wiene, 1919) Germany
Broken Blossoms (D.W. Griffith, 1919) USA
Nanook of the North (Robert J. Flaherty, 1922) USA
The Kid (Charles Chaplin, 1921) USA
Nosferatu (F.W. Murnau, 1922) Germany
Greed (Erich von Stroheim, 1924) USA
Sherlock Jr. (Buster Keaton, 1924) USA
The Last Laugh (F.W. Murnau, 1924) Germany
The Navigator (Donald Crisp & Buster Keaton, 1924) USA
Battleship Potemkin (Sergei M. Eisenstein, 1925) USSR
The Gold Rush (Charles Chaplin, 1925) USA
The General (Clyde Bruckman & Buster Keaton, 1926) USA
Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927) Germany
Berlin: Symphony of A Great City (Walther Ruttmann, 1927) Germany
Napoleon (Abel Gance, 1927) France
Sunrise (F.W. Murnau, 1927) USA
Pandora's Box (G.W. Pabst, 1928) Germany
Steamboat Bill Jr. (Buster Keaton & Charles F. Reisner, 1928) USA
October (Sergei M. Eisenstein, 1928) USSR
The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1928) France
U The Wind (Victor Sjöström, 1928) USA
Man With The Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, 1929) USSR
Earth (Alexander Dovjenko, 1930) USSR
L'Âge d'or (Luis Bunuel, 1930) France
U The Blue Angel (Josef von Sternberg, 1930) Germany
City Lights (Charles Chaplin, 1931) USA
M (Fritz Lang, 1931) Germany
L'Atalante (Jean Vigo, 1934) France
The Scarlet Empress (Josef von Sternberg, 1934) USA
Modern Times (Charles Chaplin, 1935) USA
La Grande Illusion (Jean Renoir, 1937) France
Alexander Nevsky (Sergei M. Eisenstein, 1938) USSR
La règle du jeu (Jean Renoir, 1939) France
Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939) USA
The Grapes of Wrath (John Ford , 1940) USA
The Great Dictator (Charles Chaplin, 1940) USA
Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) USA
The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1941) USA
Day of Wrath (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1942) Danemark
Ivan The Terrible: Part I (Sergei M. Eisenstein, 1944) USSR
Ivan The Terrible: Part II (Sergei M. Eisenstein, 1945) USSR
Children of Paradise (Marcel Carné, 1945) France
La belle et la bête (Jean Cocteau, 1946) France
Roma Open City (Roberto Rossellini, 1946) Italy
My Darling Clementine (John Ford, 1946) USA
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston, 1948) USA
Bicycle Thief (Vittorio De Sica, 1948) Italy
Louisiana Story (Robert J. Flaherty, 1949) USA
The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949) UK
Journal d'un curé de campagne (Robert Bresson, 1950) France
Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950) USA
The African Queen (John Huston, 1951) USA
Othello (Orson Welles, 1951) USA
Umberto D. (Vittorio De Sica, 1951) Italy
Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1952) Japan
Singin' in the Rain (Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen, 1952) USA
High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952) USA
Ugetsu (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953) Japan
Les vacances de M. Hulot (Jacques Tati, 1953) France
Madame de... (Max Ophüls, 1953) France
Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953) Japan
Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954) USA
Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954) Japan
La Strada (Federico Fellini, 1954) Italy
On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954) USA
The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) USA
Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray, 1955) India
The Searchers (John Ford, 1956) USA
Ordet (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1955) Danemark
Lola Montès (Max Ophüls, 1955)
East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955) USA
U Un condamné à mort s'est échappé (Robert Bresson, 1955) France
Aparajito (Satyajit Ray, 1956) India
Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) Sweden
Mon Oncle (Jacques Tati, 1957) France
Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini, 1957) Italy
The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) Sweden
Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958) USA
Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958) USA
Les 400 coups (François Truffaut, 1958) France
Hiroshima mon amour (Alain Resnais, 1958) France
Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959) France
North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959) USA
Apur Sansar (Satyajit Ray, 1959) India
The Virgin Spring (Ingmar Bergman, 1960) Sweden
L'Avventura (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1960) Italy
À bout de souffle (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) France
La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini, 1960) Italy
Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) USA
L'année dernière à Marienbad (Alain Resnais, 1960) France
La Notte (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1961) Italy
Jules et Jim (François Truffaut, 1961) France
West Side Story (Jerome Robbins & Robert Wise, 1961) USA
U L'Eclisse (Michaelangelo Antonioni, 1962) Italy
Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962) UK
The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock, 1963) USA
8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 1963) Italy
Les parapluies de Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 1963) France
Dr.Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1963) USA
U Pour la suite du monde (Pierre Perreault & Michel Brault, 1963) Canada
U Red Desert (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1964) Italy
Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966) Sweden
Blow Up (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966) UK
Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966) USSR
Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967) France
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1967) Italy
2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968) USA
Teorema (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1968) Italy
Once Upon A Time In The West (Sergio Leone, 1968) Italy 
The Conformist (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1969) Italy
Death in Venice (Luchino Visconti, 1971) Italy
A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971) UK
Cries and Whispers (Ingmar Bergman, 1972) Sweden
Le charme discrèt de la bourgeoisie (Luis Bunuel, 1972) France
The Godfathter (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972) USA
Amarcord (Federico Fellini, 1973) Italy
The Mirror (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1974) USSR
The Godfather: Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974) USA
Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974) USA
Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975) USA
Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976) USA
Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977) USA
Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978) USA
Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979) USA
Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979) USA
Mon oncle d'Amérique (Alain Resnais, 1980) France
Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980) USA
Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982) USA
Once Upon A Time in America (Sergio Leone, 1984) USA
Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985) UK
Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1987) Germany
Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990) USA

Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek (J.J. Abrams, 2009)

First of all, I must say that I am not a fan or an enthousiast of the Franchise. I may have seen one of the films when I was 12 or so and I don't remember which one it was. It was the one where they go through the center of the universe to find God... Well, the whole Trek fanatism never really got me. But when I see a good movie I don't care if it Star Trek or There Will be Blood; I will cry it out loud!

The re-boot of the franchise is clearly adressing itself to the new generation that never watched Star Trek and that couldn't understand the previous films. We have the whole genesis, the origin of Jim Kirk, Spock and the whole crew of the Enterprise. It's fresh funny and packed with amazing action sequences. If you don't get involve in the movie it's because you really don't want to see the film at all. The leads are protrayed by non-stars actors and it's a good thing 'cause you completely imerge yourself in the story. A good catharsis one can say... but here I write it without a negative comment, because, for some people the Science-fiction themes are harder to follow. Especially in a legendary and uncompromised franchise like Star Trek.

J.J. Abrams is a director who knows what he's doing and the years on Lost haven't been lost at all (sorry for that one). He has all the talent a director needs; to take a complex story that could have been another action flick full of sappy stereotypes and bring it to a level the series never probably achieved since its debuts. The visuals are simply candy for the eye, while never denaturating their origin. For example, the shape of the Enterprise is the same as it ever was, but it never felt outdated or lavish vintage 1970's. The same thing occurs when you look at the costumes, they don't feel retro-futurists at all, they have lines that reminds the original ones with simple and subtle modifs "au goût du jour".

Star Trek has been reborn and/or revived with passion and success. The re-boot of a franchise is always a hard thing and could be disastrous (Superman). It's always a challenge to measure how much of new stuff and original stuff and how you handle the so-called stuff. Moreover, the most important issue is who will handle it, J.J. Abrams handled it like a master, now we'll have to see for the future how he will handle the sequels.

Important Announcement!

This wonderful banner announces want we all have been waiting for: the return of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Club. It will now be hosted by the nice folk at FilmSquish and will get back on his feet with the first entry ever of the book: Le voyage dans la Lune by Georges Méliès.

The so-called tongue in cheek Blog-A-Thon will start on November 24th and end on December the 5th.
Here you'll find Squish's original message to all the members (this could include you):

The response back from Club members has been amazing!

On the week of November 29th to December 5th, 2010, I will be hosting an good old fashioned Blog-A-Thon to re-inaugurate the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Blog Club.

After months of waiting for it to start again, I decided to just host the Club myself, and I'd love to have you as a member once again. I am writing you today to invite you to contribute a post (or posters!), on the first film on the epic 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die List, George Méliès' "A Trip To The Moon" (1902) aka "Le voyage dans la lune." Since you're an old club member, it would be great to see your contribution!

One of the many great things about "A Trip To The Moon" is that this short film is available everywhere for viewing. I've put a couple links for you of the complete film at the bottom of the page.

If you're interested, drop me a link or a line through my site (www.filmsquish.com), and feel free to spread the word!
Un voyage dans la lune:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JDaOOw0MEE&feature=related
Alternate link:
http://www.archive.org/details/le_voyage_dans_la_luneE&feature=related
http://www.archive.org/details/le_voyage_dans_la_lune
So now let's Blog!!!

Top films of Wes Anderson by LMdC

Wes ANDERSON

One of the most original filmmakers of today. His films feel fresh as the French New Wave and his stories are touching and always entertaining. He follows a line with many recurring themes and regular actors and he totally created his own world. His The Royal Tenenbaums was a revelation to me. One of the so few films that can make me cry...
With newer entries this list will be updated. Feel free to click on the titles with the links, they lead you to my reviews of the films.

1. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
2. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
3. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
4. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
5. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
6. Rushmore (1998)
7. Bottle Rocket (1996)
8. Hotel Chevalier (2007)
9. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Bend of the River (1952)

TSPDT Greatest Films #912 Bend of the River (Anthony Mann, 1952)

Another amazing collaboration between James Stewart and Anthony Mann. A Western that made me think a lot about the themes exploited in The Far Country by the same Director/actor duo. The two films feel like if they were made at the same time which was approximately the case, only two years separate them. The lead character has once again to fight against the power in place that is corrupted.
However, both Bend of the River and The Far Country are about the West and how the better men must have given all they had in order to keep moral and humanity. The similarities between the two films will make this review pretty short but I promess to watch again both films and get back with more meat that deserves those classic Westerns.

In Bruges (2008)

In Bruges (Martin McDonagh, 2008)

After a job that tragically ended, two hitmen, Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brandan Gleeson) must stay quiet in a little Belgian town called Bruges. Starting slowly and sometimes off-balance, the plot just get richer and richer as long as the story and the characters evolves. It was probably the first time I've seen Ralph Fiennes play a character I actually believed in. The many sub stories doesn't all bring something central to the film but they fill some wholes that the simple main story could have let. Peter Dinklage as something like himself, the love interest, the little ex-boyfriend prick and even the landlady make a very good supporting cast to the whole of the film.

The film mixes many genres and it is for good. The grey gangster flick that announces the first thirty minutes gets better with the mix of some comedy, romance, and even thriller. The mix doesn't seem forced or too saturate for the lenght of the film. It's a very enjoyable ride all along. The friendship between the two leads is near an odd couple relationship that has its great moments. On the other side, the climax slowly climbs and many situations have very good turns of events.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants a good evening. It's the first film from director Martin McDonagh, I'd like to see more from him because In Bruges shows good directing potential.

Poll! Poll! Poll!

Welcome to the first Poll of LMdC (Le Mot du Cinephiliaque), the voting machine up left is asking you a simple question: What period of film reviews would you like to read more about on LMdC? Lately I've been reviewing random films that I am watching, like a film diary.

I've decided to include the members and the readers more into the process and make this blog a more interactive one! I'd like to know which films you want to read about and what would make you want to come back again and again at LMdC.

So, with your votes here it will help me very much to seize your interests. If someone wants a specific film to be reviewed I encourage him/her to leave it in the comments of this post!

I also would like to know if you would be many to participate in a F.W.Murnau Blog-a-Thon?

Go on and vote!

La collectionneuse (1967)

TSPDT Greatest Films #836 La collectionneuse (Eric Rohmer. 1967)

 The fourth part of Rohmer's Six Moral Tales is one of the most sublime film ever made. The story is very simple. Adrien is about to realize his most profound dream: open an Art gallery. But before actually do it he takes vacations in a country house imposing so basic rules to his living. This is somewhat like volountary simplicity. Living of nothing and getting up and sunrise and having a priest-like way of life. He shares the villa with friend called Daniel that agreed to live by the same rules. There is another person living with them in the house: Haydée an easy girl that lives the opposite of Adrien, she is out all night and meeting many men every night. At first, Adrien and Daniel despite Haydée's way of life and they will confront her by first refusing to sleep with her and contempting her. Obviously as Adrien continues to refuse to have sex with Haydée he will slowly fall in love with her.

The simplicity of the story sets you off and like Rohmer's other films it takes some time to understand where he wants to lead us. The storytelling of the story with Adrien as the narrator helps the viewer to understand and apreciate the somtimes confusing acts of seduction and love depicted on the screen. One of the many interesting facets of it is the way how everything is consciensly narrated by the protagonist of the story and how he finally accepts his sentiments towards the girl that in first place he contempted.

La collectionneuse is a film that can rightfully describe the camera-pen the French New Wave talked about. The film goes like a classic novel and the images are the support to the text. This is like an inversion of the classic way films were shot.

Having only seen two (Ma nuit chez Maud & La collectionneuse) of the Six Moral Tales by Rohmer I am looking forward to discover the rest of the tales. I actually enjoyed both very much and couldn't decide now which I prefred. Which one Moral Tale is your favorite?

House (1977)

House aka Hausu (Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1977)

A little late for Halloween but who cares... House is still a must see film a day you are seing it doesn't really care... It ain't no Christmas movie and that's for sure. College is over for the summer and the girls are happy to go on vacation. But Gorgeous's dad is going in vacation with his new mistress abandoning Gorgeous for the summer. She decides to ask her aunt to stay at her house with her girlfriends. At the aunt's mansion the girls will meet the aunt and many extravagant experiences.

The first part of the film is unsettling, because it's shot with saturated colors and innocent girlish scenes that do not prevent from the madness that will follow. The tone of the film is so candy eye-popping that it kinda felt like you are watching a fairytale. Moreover, many elements of the plot tend to let you think that you are actually watching a fairytale. The stepmother that "steals" Gorgeous's place with her father that felt like an Oedipus Rex complex.
Another element of the plot, the coming of age of the girl as a woman, first represented with the outfits of college girls and later the woman clothes and then the many parts of naked women representing the passage to adulthood. And finally the loads of blood representing the menstruations of the young women depicted. The aunt represents how the older woman that can no longer have children and must destroy her younger opponents to conquer men. The white cat probably reprensents evil itself.
The visual treatment of the film is probably the one thing that betrays it. The effects are outdated and the flamboyant-saturated images reflects the late 1970's. Althought, it gives dynamic images of constant movement. After a while instead of preventing the viewer to get bored, it annoys him because he doen't has the time to fully appreciate the "mise-en-scène".
An issue that annoyed me was the fact that some girls disappear and they are forgotten in the story, as if we were jumping over those details of the movie.

In the whole, this is exhuberant film deserves to be watched by every Horror film lover out there. It is fresh, unique and tells a lot about horror story telling even if it has some flaws...